There are a lot of private student loans out there, so finding the best one for you can be a difficult and confusing experience. Taking out a student loan is a big decision, and like all big financial decisions, you must be well informed before applying.

A tool that could prove very helpful to you in your search for a good deal is our private loan comparison tool. It allows you to compare some of the most popular lenders and review what benefits their loans offer. Plus, if you find a good option, you can apply for a private loan right there, making it a much simpler process. While the comparison tool is a great help, you also have to know what to look for. To help with this, make of list of what loan benefits are most important to you, that way, you can more easily narrow down your choices.
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Hey, fellow college kids! It’s the time of year again for school to start. Are you wondering how you’ll be able to pay for it? Don’t let a school’s price tag or lack of financial aid scare you away. Be sure to look into getting a private student loan.

Private student loans are offered by a wide variety of companies, and allow users to borrow up to the full cost of their education.  Besides your actual school tuition, you can also use a private student loan for textbooks, housing, meals, and any other school-related fees. Unlike federal loans, interest rates for private student loans vary, and there are absolutely no deadlines. While scholarship applications and FAFSA enforce deadlines, you can apply for a private student loan at any time.

To qualify for a private student loan, you need to be a United States citizen or permanent resident applying alongside a co-signer with good credit history, and be enrolled in school at least half time.  Find out what your options are now!

Super Street Fighter jokes aside, we are pleased to announce that PNC Bank has been added to our comprehensive lender comparison tool on PrivateStudentLoans.com.

As always, if you have questions, comments or concerns about any content on our websites, please leave a comment in our financial aid forum and we will work to resolve them asap!

Compare Private Student Loans »

It’s June and many of you have either already received your financial aid award packages or will be getting them soon from your school. If you are a part of the student majority, you likely will not receive enough from federal student aid to fully cover your tuition.

Although scholarships are an excellent way to shave money off this financial aid gap, in most cases, a private student loan is unavoidable. Here are some useful tips when comparing student loan lenders so that you don’t rack up more debt than you have to: (more…)

If federal aid and scholarships aren’t enough to foot the bill, a private student loan can be a crucial way of covering some of those added costs of college. But locating the right private student loan for you is no easy task. With so many lenders to keep track of, finding the loan that fits you might feel like searching for a needle in a haystack.

That is why we have since revamped our Private Student Loan application page. The new page shows multiple loan options that let you view each of the lenders tailored to you, based on your grade level, home state and school state. In one easy-to-read page you will see not only the lenders, but their policies and offers, including options on rate reductions and origination fees.

To take it for a spin, visit the apply page and in five minutes you can see what some of the top private lenders can offer you. Don’t forget, you can also use our private student loan comparison tool (pictured right) to view some of your available loan options.

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We get a boatload of questions daily in our Financial Aid forums concerning private student loans. While such a loan can help you close the gap between your federal loan allowance and your total cost of education, there may be some concerns. Here are a sampling of questions found in our forums and some ways to answer them.

1. “My parents don’t want ANOTHER loan hanging over their heads.” – As you may have heard, the U.S. economy hasn’t exactly been great last couple of years. Virtually no outside lender will approve you for a private student loan without a cosigner. But Mom and Dad, already burdened by the cost of education, might feel queasy at the thought of borrowing even more and facing a potentially damaging interest rate. One way to solve this problem is to take out a Parent PLUS loan, which has a fixed interest rate of 8.5% and the payments can be deferred until after graduation.

2. “My parents have lousy credit.” – Again, you will almost definitely need a co-signer for a private student loan these days. One trick is to ask your parents to apply for the Parent PLUS loan. If they have bad credit, they will get denied. You, however, can become eligible for up to $6,000 more per year with an unsubsidized Stafford loan. You may also seek out another trusted adult as your guardian. (Read this checklist for finding a private student loan co-signer.)

3. “I don’t know which lender to trust.” -  Sad to say, there are a LOT of shady lenders out there who would love nothing more than to sucker you into a bad loan. Always (repeat: ALWAYS) shop around and perform your due diligence before providing personal information to a lender. One great place to start is right here, with the Private Student Loan comparison tool.

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Did anyone ever tell you to shop around before making a big purchase?  When you buy a TV or a computer you do hours of research to find out what your options are and where you can purchase the item at the lowest cost. A private student loan should be no different.

If you are considering applying for a private student loan for college you should definitely shop around before deciding which lender to apply with. You should explore all of your lender options, interest rates, repayment expectations and deferment options. The new private student loan comparison tool on PrivateStudentLoans.com makes it easy to do this research without having to visit multiple lender websites.  The tool aggregates information from six of the top private student lenders and lets you view it in detail without an registration commitment.

Before you sign off on a private student loan do your homework and know your facts. Take as much time to choose your private student loan as you would to choose a new car. If you do this you will not have any surprises when it comes time for repayment.

We’ve all heard the saying, read between the lines, but most of us don’t bother.  I mean, can you honestly tell me you read the terms and conditions when you purchase something?  You probably just scroll down to the bottom and click accept.  Am I right?  I know I’m guilty of the latter.  I really should read the fine print – we all should.  The devil, after all, lies within the details.  Last year my friend April learned this lesson the hard way.

April attended Northeastern University from 2004-2008. During that time she amassed $35,000 in private student loan debt and about $20,000 in federal. She now holds a BS in Philosophy from a very prestigious university with no job to speak of.  Understandably with no income she has been unable to make her $300 monthly payment. But no worries, she can put those loans in deferment, right?  Wrong.  Had she known what she was getting herself into she probably would have gone with another lender.

She figured since she was able to defer her federal Stafford and Perkins loans (you have up to three years of deferment time on federal loans) she’d naturally be able to do the same with her private loans, but that was not the case.  The only deferment options available to her were a 48 month in school deferment and 36 month active-duty deferment for military personnel.  There was no deferral benefit for economic hardship. Yikes!

Now she is in way over her head. Her debt is mounting, late fees are being assessed, her credit history is in complete disarray, and her co-signer is now being affected.  Welcome to the world or adulthood.

When I asked April if there was one thing in particular she wanted me to be certain to convey in this blog she said, “Tell them to ask a lot of questions.  Tell them to do their homework.  Don’t be content to let the school’s FAO or a family member do all the work for you, which I did.  Know YOUR benefits.”

Some of the most common benefits you will find in the market today include:

• 12 Month Economic hardship deferment
• No origination, guarantor, or prepayment fees
• Exclusive 2% graduation reward based on your outstanding principal balance
• Rates as low as Prime minus 0.50%, based on credit evaluation
• Repayment does not begin until six months after you graduate or leave school
• Co-signer release

The six month grace period and economic hardship deferment option are two of the most highly sought after benefits with the economy still on the mend.

So my recommendation is to heed April’s warning and pay close attention to the benefits extended to you if/when you take out a private student loan.  It is far too easy to just scroll down to the bottom and click accept.  Read between those lines.  Sometimes it’s what you don’t see the first time around that can hurt the most.

Fore more information or to compare private students loans (click here).

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The Student Loan Network offers a unique option to customers; choose from two different private student loan options.

The first, a standard “school certified” private college student loan has somewhat lower fees and rates.  The down side is that the school has to certify the loan (verify that you are a student and the cost of education less other aid) which causes delays in processing and disbursement.  For school certified loans, the check is sent to the school.

The second option is a “direct to consumer” private student loan which comes with competitive rates – generally higher than certified loans – but will fund direct to the student in as little as five days from application completion.

Choose for yourself at:

Private Student Loan Comparison